345 



This brings us up to 1980 and the Alaska National Interest Land 

 Conservation Act, also known as ANILCA. 



One of the most difficult issues which faced Congress during 

 ANILCA deliberations in 1980 was to simultaneously satisfy the national 

 desire for protection of large acreages of wilderness in the Tongass 

 National Forest while maintaining employment in the existing timber 

 industry which depend on federal timber supplies. Section 703 of ANILCA 

 designated 5.5 million acres of the Tongass National Forest as 

 wilderness. Section 705 specified a timber supply of 4.5 million board 

 feet per decade for the dependent industry and provided a continuing 

 appropriation of no less than $4 million per year to the Forest Service 

 in order to make the timber supply available. Section 705 reaffirmed the 

 forest service's long standing social objective of creating and 

 maintaining year around employment and community stability based on the 

 timber resources of the Tongass National Forest. 



In short. Section 705 was a key part of the overall compromise 

 which made ANILCA possible in 1980. One of its key architects. Senator 

 Tsongas, described the compromise as follows: 



The greatest fear regarding the timber industry in 

 Southeast was that so much area was placed in 

 wilderness that the cost of maintaining the timber 

 harvest might be beyond budgetary expectations. In view 

 of these fears. Section 705(A) has been modified to 

 ensure the availability of funds. Rather than specify 

 the extra funds needed, a mechanism has been provided 

 whereby the Secretary each year will obtain all of the 

 funds needed. The amendment assures the availability of 

 at least $40 million. These funds are intended to be 

 spent in the seune manner and for the same purposes as 

 those provided in the committee bill. These include 

 expenditures for stand improvements, the timber and road 

 program, and related capital investments but also 

 include the regular costs of sale and road layout and 

 preparation and may include research activities which 

 contribute directly to improved timber utilization and 

 advance technology. In addition, the amendment provides 

 a decade sale average of 4.5 billion foot board measure 

 so that the United States Forest Service can adjust the 



Written Testimony 

 April 25, 1988 

 Page 4 



